Freshman Tea Party Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who steadfastly opposes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, said today that President Obama‘s insistence on tying a path to citizenship to the reform bill is the main impediment to passing legislation.

“The path the White House is going down, I believe, is designed for this bill to fail,” Cruz says. “It is designed for it to sail through the Senate and then crash in the House to let the president go and campaign in 2014 on this issue,” said Cruz in an interview with The Fine Print.

Cruz also said while he’s not sure what it means, he’s proud to be called a “wacko bird” — as he was called by Arizona Republican Senator John McCain. “If standing for liberty, if standing for free market principle and the Constitution makes you a wacko bird, then, then I am a very proud wacko bird,” Cruz said.

Today a Senate aide familiar with the immigration negotiations had one word about Cruz. “Ignore,” said the aide. The Senate is currently starting its debate on the Senate floor on the immigration bill, with hopes that it can clear the 60-vote hurdle. Yesterday New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte announced her support the immigration reform bill.

In the more conservative, Republican-led House, a bipartisan group, including Florida Republican Mario Diaz-Balart, is working to craft immigration reform legislation which would include an earned path to citizenship, even though the path might take 15 years. In the upcoming weeks, the question is whether legislators will be swayed by Republicans like McCain or Diaz-Balart and support a path to citizenship, 0r side with Republicans like Cruz blocking the provision.